1. Field of the Invention
The field of art to which the invention pertains includes the field of automatic and semi-automatic telephone-answering systems, particularly, with respect to a system for providing a voice message upon being activated and subsequent to the voice message, entertainment, such as music can be provided.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional telephone-answering systems are designed to provide a message for the caller when a plurality of incoming calls are simultaneously received and all the calls cannot be answered at the same time. The message indicates that the system is overloaded and that the caller will be answered if he will wait on the line. Typically, these systems provide prerecorded messages which can come on the line in the middle of the message thus constituting an annoyance to the caller, or require the expensive alternative of many separate tape players or other sound sources so that one is available for each line which may be answered or they require that a line ring an unacceptable number of times before the line is answered while waiting for the message to come to its beginning. With the first approach, subsequent to the message, a long period of time may elapse before the caller is attended to by the live operator. This period of silence can be an annoyance to the caller, thereby resulting in irritation or further lack of pursuit of the call. Unless extremely sophisticated storage equipment is provided, the operator cannot determine which call has been waiting the longest time and is unable to take the incoming calls in sequence.
The present invention provides an automatic telephone-answering system utilizing a single sound source for a large plurality of telephone lines which commences a voice message at the beginning of the message, or any line to which the system is connected with a minimal delay before start of the message, and subsequent to the voice message provides entertainment, such as music, until the live operator is available to service the caller. A primary signal indicator provides information to the operator as to which calls have been waiting. A secondary signal indicator indicates when the caller has waited an inordinate period of time. This information can also be transmitted to supervisory personnel so that they may aid the operator in answering the calls when a large number of callers have been waiting.